Skip to main content

Smooth sailing for paving with Topcon’s SmoothRide

Topcon Positioning Group’s new road scanning solution SmoothRide can gather highway asset data at highway speeds with no need for lane closures, crash trucks or escorts. SmoothRide is a vehicle-mounted resurfacing solution for paving and milling projects. It uses a combination of core Topcon technologies designed to deliver the smoothest surface possible, while efficiently managing the quantity of material for each project.
April 14, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Topcon’s Jörg Velten with the RD-M1 scanning unit

7300 Topcon Positioning Systems’s new road scanning solution SmoothRide can gather highway asset data at highway speeds with no need for lane closures, crash trucks or escorts.

SmoothRide is a vehicle-mounted resurfacing solution for paving and milling projects. It uses a combination of core Topcon technologies designed to deliver the smoothest surface possible, while efficiently managing the quantity of material for each project.

With the new RD-M1 scanning unit, the system maps the existing surface elevations - with many more points captured versus what can be expected with traditional tools. This provides more accurate data needed to confidently estimate materials, as well as to form the basis of the final design surface.

The workflow consists of a vehicle-mounted road scan, existing and finish surface design, and machine control using GNSS with sonic tracker sensor guidance.

Once the road information is gathered, operators can use Mobile Master Office point data processing software to recreate the existing surface. Magnet Office with Resurfacing is then used to digitally create a high-resolution model of the required finished mat.

The resurfacing module allows operators to create a design using specific regulatory requirements such as minimum thickness, desired cross-slope, and overall smoothness.

The information is then passed onto a paver or milling machine to allow for variable depth paving to where it is required - with the result being a much smoother road as well as faster completion times, explained Jörg Velten, Topcon Construction’s European support manager.

All videosAll show news

Related Content

  • Topcon’s efficient Smoothride package offers high quality road resurfacing
    April 27, 2018
    The latest Smoothride system for road resurfacing from Topcon Positioning offers improved quality and efficiency for road construction. Ulrich Hermanski, vice president of Construction Business EMEA at the firm, said: “What we have in road construction, no-one else has.” The system combines sonic controls and GPS, providing high accuracy. The complete package includes road scanning technology that can be used to track road conditions and determine slope, gradient and wear. Hermanski said: “The thing that i
  • Positioning tools continue to improve
    July 16, 2012
    Topcon says that its new IP-S2 package combines GNNS positioning capabilities with inertial sensors, while the firm also has a solution for customers wanting to mix and match receiver components. The IP-S2 is a vehicle-mounted, mobile 3D tool that offers precision mapping and surveying capabilities. The package collects data using 3D laser scanners, LIDAR, and/or cameras, and this is then integrated, time-stamped and geo-referenced. The customer can use this assembled data to combine LIDAR point cloud and d
  • Machine Control sector is the place for acquisitions
    January 22, 2014
    The machine control sector has been lively in recent months with a major acquisition, the unveiling of new software innovation and landmark testing of new technology to monitor paving temperature. Guy Woodford reports The state road construction authority in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt (LSBB Saxony-Anhalt) has become the first nationally to test MOBA’s new PAVE-IR Scan temperature measurement system at a works site.
  • Topcon offers the potential for smoother roads
    May 11, 2018
    An improved package from Topcon Positioning will allow upgrades in road surface quality. The firm is launching an upgrade to its SmoothRide data collection software. This new RD-M1 Collect 2.0 package includes updates that make the mapping of road conditions easier and more efficient. The improved interface is designed to simplify setup and automatically detect the position of the wheel sensor during data collection.